Powerless about performance?

By Carolyn Cohen

Illustration: Keri Smith

WHEN AN EMPLOYEE’S WORK NEEDS A BOOST, THERE’S NO ONE WAY TO HANDLE THE SITUATION, NOR CAN IT BE DONE ALONE

It’s been brought to your attention that the performance of one of your employees (or maybe even your own) is slipping: work is turned in with mistakes; deadlines are missed; some tasks are ignored; goals are not met. Because you are dealing with people, problems are sensitive and require customized solutions. For the best results, don’t try to fix problems alone, make it a collaborative effort.

First, you must determine if the problem stems from a lack of skill, which is easy to figure out. Has this individual performed the same tasks well in the past? If the answer is yes, then skill is likely not the problem.

If the person is facing a new task, ask where he or she is getting stuck. Is the task confusing? Is it being done in a logical sequence? Does the employee understand the purpose of the task and how it fits into the big picture of the department or organization?

A good way to determine if someone understands his or her task is to have the person explain how he or she would go about teaching this skill to someone else.

If it is obvious that lack of skill is the problem, find out if the problem is pervasive throughout the department. Does anyone else have the same difficulties?

If several people are struggling, it may be an indication that training is required. If only one individual needs help, ask if he or she is capable of performing in the expected manner. If the answer is yes, then one-on-one coaching may be the answer. If he or she is not considered capable, then a transfer of responsibility may be in order.

Attitude, motivation & personal problems
If you feel certain the employee (or you) is not experiencing difficulties due to lack of skills, find out when the problem started and what was going on in the company or in the employee’s life at the time. Was the organization undergoing significant change? Was there a climate of uncertainty that left this person worried about the future of his/her job? Was the supervisor or manager less available for guidance and support? Was there a staff change?

Did the individual take on more responsibilities or was his or her workload increased? Was the individual over-looked for a promotion? Was a plan developed to help him or her get the next promotion? Finally, was there something going on in this individual’s personal life at the time performance started to falter?

Ongoing problems
Problems not related to skill or specific events may be due to ongoing issues the employee struggles with. For instance, the individual may be bored with his or her current responsibilities and would like to move on to something else but has been afraid to broach the subject.

He or she could be burnt out or at the end of their tolerance for a boss who fails to recognize the contributions made thus far. There could be a conflict with another employee that is impeding team work, or the employee may just not understand what is expected of him or her.

Are many afflicted?
You must also figure out how pervasive the problem is. Is it confined to one department or has the organization been affected? Is the company suffering from low morale?

If you have the sense that your group could do more or better, perhaps you need to look at the organization’s treatment of staff (are they treated with respect or is the prevailing attitude they are lucky to have jobs?), the communication practices (does the organization let employees in on where they’re headed, what is expected of them?), the reward and recognition policies (are praise and thank-yous more prevalent than criticism?). Are expectations realistic? Is the best equipment the company can afford being used? Are employees fearful of taking chances or trying new things because of the consequences if they fail?

Possible solutions
Once you discover the cause of the problem, the solutions are easy to come up with if you take the time and are truly committed to making things better.

If skill is the issue, you may want to look into coaching or training (see “ No train, no gain,” September 2001, page 41). If a missed promotion, uncertainty due to a reorganization or lack of attention because of staffing changes are the culprits, while they can not be changed, they can be aired. Assurances can be given that every effort will be made to avoid a recurrence.

If it is personal problems that are plaguing the employee, you may find yourself drawn into the situation because of a sincere desire to help. But because of your own work pressures and a lack of training as a counsellor, it may be best to avoid this temptation and keep your distance in such a situation.

Refer the individual to the company’s employee assistance program if you have one, or suggest the person see his or her family doctor. What the company can do is make a reasonable offer of time off or temporary flexible hours so the employee can deal with the issue.

If you were lucky enough to discover that you’re the problem, be happy you did so before further damage was done. Assess your strengths and limitations as a manager, ask others for feedback and get some help.

In good economic times, poor morale may show up as high turnover. In poor economic times, employees may not feel as free to move. Their anger, disappointment and frustration are expressed by a reduction in effort and enthusiasm.

It is not pleasant to discover a pervasive morale problem with your staff, but if you do find one, take responsibility for it and encourage your employees to help you find solutions.

Gathering further information
You may want to consider the above possibilities on your own to obtain a better understanding of the problem, but even the most astute managers cannot read minds. Take your hunches to the individual directly. Arrange a meeting; put the facts on the table, tell him or her their performance is not as good as you think it could be. Be prepared to back up your statements with examples and be sure you comment only on behaviour as opposed to the individual personally. Explain how these performance problems affect other parts of the company’s operations.

Ask the individual to respond to what you’ve said. Tell him or her you would like to get to the underlying reason for the problem so you can work together on improving things. Let the employee know you are confident that improvement is possible.

If necessary, ask the employee to think about the issue, its causes and possible solutions and you can meet again in a week or so. After possible causes and solutions have been agreed upon, come up with a plan. Be sure you understand where your help is needed and where it is not. Consider who else needs to be brought in.

Lastly, summarize your expectations and arrange a schedule for follow-up. This conversation will often result in the employee letting go of some past anger, frustration or jealousy and allow them to move on toward furthering their professional goals. At the same time, you’ll likely see performance improvement that is rewarding for both of you.

Carolyn Cohen, CA, MSW, runs a training and human resources consulting practice in Toronto and is CAmagazine's Technical Editor for People management. She can be reached at c.cohen@sympatico.ca